Nip, Larson, Olbrich extend streaks

March 14, 2009

McMINNVILLE, Ore. - Kiana Nip (Fr., Lahaina, Hawaii) and Sophie Larson (Jr., Eugene, Ore.) pushed their individual Northwest Conference singles records to 9-0 with a pair of straight sets victories Saturday that helped Linfield streak past Puget Sound 8-1 inside Rutschman Field House.

The defending NWC champion Wildcats (9-2 overall, 9-0 NWC) kept their conference record spotless, setting up a Sunday showdown against fellow conference unbeaten Whitworth.

Larson emerged with a tight 6-4, 6-3 victory at No. 2 singles over the Loggers’ Alissa Wolf. Nip had an easier time at No. 3, prevailing 6-0, 6-2 over UPS’s Ada Yu. In other pairings, Abby Olbrich (Soph., Vancouver, Wash.) blanked Sam Taylor 6-0, 6-0 at No. 1 to improve to 8-0 in NWC singles, Sarah Click (Jr., Vancouver, Wash.) bounced the Loggers’ Devin Fields 6-2, 6-0 at No. 4, and Kirstie Franceschina (Fr., Newcastle, Wash.) rounded out the singles sweep with an 8-2 win over UPS’s Rose Marie Leslie. The Loggers earned their lone team point at No. 5, where Jessica Gauger won a time-shortened match 8-6 over Katie Patterson (Fr., Sherwood, Ore.).

In doubles play, Linfield’s Sallie Katter (Sr., Salem, Ore.) paired with Larson for an 8-1 victory over Taylor and Wolf and No. 1, Click and Olbrich stayed unbeaten in conference play at 9-0 with a 8-0 shutout of Fields and Dombrow, and Nip and Patterson edged Yu and Gauger 9-8 (4) at No. 3.

AHEAD: Linfield meets Whitworth (11-2, 10-0 NWC) Sunday at 8:30 a.m. inside Salem’s Courthouse Athletic Club courts.

Abby Olbrich
8-0 in NWC singles